Minister for Agriculture, Rural and Maritime Development and National Disaster Management and Meteorological Services, Inia Seruiratu stressed the importance of applying the best agricultural practices to mitigate the effects of climate change.

He said this while meeting and holding informal discussions with respective crop and livestock farmers of Tailevu last week

He urged farmers in the country to be mindful of the impacts of climate change and to practise climate-smart agriculture to address them.

“Weather patterns are changing and as farmers, you need to adjust to it. I am talking about climate-smart agriculture because unfortunately the weather is beyond our control and Tropical Cyclone Winston was a sign of the impacts of climate change and we need to adapt with it,” Mr Seruiratu said.

He also acknowledged the integral role of farmers in providing nutrition in feeding the country, but reiterated the significance of taking action now to safeguard farmers’ interests to cope with the changing weather patterns.

The minster also acknowledged the farmers who have remained to continue farming

“We need farmers, unfortunately in Fiji today, not a lot of people are interested in farming and that is also one of the challenges now,” added Mr Seruiratu.

Source: DEPTFO

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